Family Friends
at the Hospital
A Family Friend a.k.a. Perhekaveri helps at the New Children’s Hospital. During hospital visits, Perhekaveri can provide support and conversation for a parent or be around to keep a child happily occupied.
From the hospital you can also be directed towards conversation support for families.
Recognize the Family Friend by the Pink Shirt
A Perhekaveri (Family Friend) is a volunteer trained by HelsinkiMissio to bring a sense of normalcy to the hospital world. A Family Friend helps families who need to attend the New Children’s Hospital in Helsinki by making their time there as pleasant as possible.
Family Friends are available in the hospital lobby on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. You can spot them easily as they wear pink Perhekaveri T-shirts, or you can phone the volunteer number 044 599 1242.
You can, for instance, ask a Family Friend to:
- Keep you company on a walk
- Be a guide to nearby services
- Be an extra pair of hands during hospital life
- Come to a patient’s room to keep a child, young person, or an adult, company
- Keep a child company at the hospital during a treatment conference
- Provide a break for a parent who is attending a child in a ward
- Be someone to talk to for an adult, or perhaps play a game with a child or young person
In addition, Family Friends can arrange youth evenings remotely for young people on the wards. Our volunteers arrange group activities in cooperation with the hospital’s own Play and Youth Activities.
You can also keep in touch with a Family Friend volunteer remotely, in whatever way works best for you and the volunteer, for example by phone, video calls or messaging. A Family Friend can also be asked to keep a child company remotely by, perhaps, telling them a bed-time story, drawing, playing a game or helping them with homework.
Do you need help at other times?
Ask for help by filling in a contact form. We will then get in touch with you as soon as possible.
You can also ask for help by phoning the coordinator at 044 784 6534. If you ask for a Family Friend volunteer for a child, be sure to provide information about the child’s age and interests on the form, as well as specifying what kind of support you are hoping for from the volunteer.
For more information, please contact:
perhekaveri@helsinkimissio.fi
Phone: 044 784 6534
We were late for our appointment at the hospital, which was new to us. The Family Friends saved our day by helping us with signing in and taking us to the appointment room. After the ordeal of a blood test and whatnot, the volunteer coloured in fish with my child and for once I could have my coffee in peace while it was still hot!”
Conversation and Crisis Help to Support Families (in Finnish)
Are the worries of family life getting to you? We offer conversation and crisis help to families, allowing you to get support you need to deal with exhaustion, loneliness, couple’s issues, or family relationships. We offer the service in English case-by-case.
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